Boarding School
by nodoubtwywh
Summary: Jessie, Grace, and Katie go to Boarding School....... I started this fic awhile ago and I've decided to pick it back up - so I'll post the first 7 parts of it over the next week - if you like it - lemme know!
1. Boarding School 1

Fic: Boarding School (1?)

Author: nodoubtwywh

Disclaimer: None of the character of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

Summary: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, i suck at this whole summary thing)

Feedback: Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

Jessie thought of boarding school, she thought of only a few things. Kids with attitude problems who were sent away, books like A Separate Peace, and movies like School Ties. She never once pictured herself there. But since her father was going to be traveling a lot for work, and since her mother thought this school was one of the best academic opportunities she'd ever have - they both agreed to send her. It was funny to Jessie that her parents, who never get agree about anything, actually agreed about sending her away. 

Going to boarding school was the last thing Jessie wanted. Everything around her keeps changing, and she was tired of it. She just got settled in at the Manning/Sammler house in the attic, and now they were telling her she had to move again? Jessie had a hard enough time in high school finding her niche. The last thing she wanted was to go away and be a new kid - yet again. And the only way her parents consoled her was that she wasn't going alone. That was the other part of the news. Not only was she going to boarding school, but so was Grace.

'Wonderful,' Jessie thought to herself sarcastically when her dad told her this. It wasn't that she hated Grace - she didn't. But she definitely wasn't her favorite person, and she was pretty sure Grace thought the same thing of her. 

The month of August went by faster than Jessie wanted. She only had one day left before they were driving to school. She was supposed to be in the attic making sure they had bought everything she would need. So far, the only positive thing out of all of this was that her mom and dad bought her a laptop to take to school.

Jessie looked over the list she had typed on her new computer, and closed it with a heavy sigh as she heard her dad yell for her to come down and eat.

"Hey Jess" Lily started as she walked in the room "You think you have everything you're going to need at school?"

"Looks like it," Jessie said as she grabbed a plate from the counter and sat down.

"Mom, we still need to get a mini-fridge" Grace reminded her mother

"Oh, I picked one up today" Rick answered as he smiled at Jessie "I think it'll be big enough for you guys to have the basics in your room"

Jessie slowly picked at her spaghetti. Why did anyone ever think she would like going away to school and sharing a room with anyone - not to mention Grace.

"Aren't you hungry?" Rick asked his eyes suddenly narrowing at Jessie.

"Yeah, you'd better eat something here while you can. Cafeteria food all the time is going to suck," Grace said as she poured herself some more soda.

"Yeah, I guess I just ate a lot for lunch" Jessie said absentmindedly as she took another bite of food. The last thing she needed was her dad to make a big of deal of her eating habits at her new school.

The next night after dinner Jessie retreated quickly to her room. Dinner seemed to be even weirder knowing that she and Grace were leaving tomorrow. It was obvious that this same reality had hit Lily and Rick who were being strangely nice. Lily had made their favorite foods, but Jessie still didn't feel all that hungry. And the last thing she wanted was to have another fight about her eating habits before she left. She knew she wasn't eating enough, but she was nervous. "Can't anyone give me a break?" Jessie thought bitterly as she climbed the stairs to her room.

Just as she was about to get on the Internet someone knocked on the attic door.

"Come in" Jessie yelled putting down her laptop.

"Hey" Grace said quietly as she sat down on Jessie's bed.

"What's up?"

"Nothing really, " Grace answered in a tone that would prove to anyone that she was lying.

"OK..." Jessie said not knowing what else to say

"I'm just nervous about tomorrow. I mean, I know this school is supposed to be a good thing, and they obviously won our parents over," Grace continued as she got up and started pacing the floor "I just don't want to start over at a new school...y'know?"

Jessie was surprised that Grace had decided to confide to her, but she was glad that she wasn't the only worried about going to this place.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly calm about going tomorrow either, but at least you know a couple of people in your grade who are going there, too" Jessie reminded her.

"I know them, sure, but they weren't my close friends"

"Well," Jessie hesitated before going on "At least we know each other"

"Yeah," admitted Grace "It probably would be worse if I didn't know who they were going to stick with me as a roommate."

An awkward silence followed as Grace and Jessie realized they were going to have to depend on each other for the first time.

Grace got up and headed to the door, "Oh yeah, that reminds me, just as a fair warning, your mom and dad asked me to make sure you ate while we're at school."

"Just great" Jessie thought to herself as Grace yelled 'g'night' from the bottom of the attic stairs.

Her nerves didn't calm down all night, but finally around 2 am, Jessie drifted off to sleep.


	2. Boarding School 2

**Fic**: Boarding School (2?)

**Author:** nodoubtwywh

**Disclaimer: **None of the character of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

**Summary**: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, I suck at this whole summary thing)

**Feedback:** Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

* * *

The next morning was a blur of running around. Jessie overslept her alarm, and nothing seemed to go right after that. She almost forgot her toothbrush, she fought with her dad about finishing her bowl of cereal, and her mom, who was supposed to come over and say a last goodbye, wasn't there yet. 

"Where is she?" Rick asked angrily to no one in particular.

"Calm down, Rick" Lily said soothingly "She'll be here, and we have plenty of time."

"Jess, will you go get Eli and ask him to help us pack up the car? We're running behind." Rick asked Jessie who had a million other things to do.

Jessie ran to the garage and got her brother before heading back to her room to take a last look around for anything she may have left.

Thirty minutes later the car was all packed up. Karen had stopped by just in time, Zoë was left in Eli's somewhat capable hands for the day, and Grace finally found her mp3 player. The ride to school was supposed to take three hours. Jessie had been so busy dreading boarding school that she forgot to dread the long car ride to get there.

Luckily enough, the trip was fairly uneventful. Grace was unusually quiet, and Jessie was sure she was just as nervous as she was. The good thing about the two of them listening to their ipods was that they could pretend not to hear their parents trying to make small talk with them.

"Hey Girls," Lily turned around and made eye contact to get them to listen.

Jessie and Grace reluctantly took out their earphones.

"This is our exit," Lily smiled at them "The school is only a half-mile up this road"

Jessie wrapped her earphones around her ipod and stuck it in her backpack just as the car made a right turn onto the campus.

'Wow,' Jessie thought to herself when she first saw the grounds. 'Great, I'm going to get lost all the time'

"This place is big," Grace said aloud mirroring Jessie's thoughts.

"Yep, it used to be a college campus over a hundred years ago" Rick replied knowingly

"Gee, Rick, you really have that brochure memorized" Grace mocked

"Grace," Lily started and then added "actually, that's not in the brochure. That recruiter from the school told us at the parents interest meeting months ago."

Grace just rolled her eyes at her mom.

"Ok," Rick said ignoring them "The girls' dorm is around here somewhere. I think if we make a left it'll be up here on the right."

They pulled up to a big building that Rick verified as the girls' dorm. He found space on the curb in the middle of all the others cars unpacking, too, and the girls finally got out of the car.

Jessie just looked at the huge building and knew that this might even be worse than she imagined.

Grace and Jessie went inside to the lobby of the building and waited in a long line to get their room keys. They hadn't said much since they arrived, but they both knew there was no going back now.

Moving in turned out to be such a big pain that no one had time to think past it. Waiting for elevators and carts to bring up their stuff in took a long time. Four hours later everything was in the room and nearly set up.

"Well," Lily said taking a look around the room at the cinder block walls "It's not a lot, but you guys can decorate it to make it more homey."

"Right," Jessie said not wanting to point out that it wasn't home so how could it ever be 'homey' ?

Before Rick and Lily had to leave they wanted to take Jessie and Grace out to dinner.

'A last supper,' Jessie thought to herself bitterly.

The school was in a small town, so their choices were limited. They found a place and soon realized they weren't the only parents who were taking their kids out for a final meal. The restaurant was filled with families.

"So, are you guys nervous about classes?" Lily asked trying to drum up some dinner conversation

"No, not really" Jessie lied.

"Me neither," Grace chimed in as it went back to silent.

"Well, I think it's great that you guys can walk off campus to so many places" Lily said not giving up.

"Yeah," Rick said trying to help Lily out "Jess, I think I saw a used bookstore, too"

"Great," Jess said trying to pretend that made everything better.

Dinner continued uneventfully, and before Jessie knew it, they were saying goodbye.

"Don't forget to call us," Lily said "and e-mail."

"A lot," Rick added as squeezed the life out of Jessie

"We will," Grace and Jessie replied.

"And let us know if you need anything and we can send it up right away." Lily reminded

"Well, actually, I could use a new pair of shoes," Grace joked

"Very funny, Grace" was the reply she got from Lily.

Finally, Rick and Lily got back into the car and drove off.

"So," Jessie said turning to Grace.

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess we should go upstairs"

"Yeah," Grace said as she started back into the dormitory.

There was a loud group of girls already laughing in the corner of the lobby, and Grace thought she recognized the ringleader.

"Hey Grace!" someone shouted.

Jessie looked at Grace curiously, but decided to wait for her near the elevator. Big crowds of people she didn't know was exactly Jessie's idea of a good time.

"I'll be right back," Grace told Jessie

"I promise," Grace added at the look on Jessie's face.

Jessie watched Grace go over and talk to the group, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. A few minutes later Grace came back over and they got into the elevator.

"Who was that?" Jessie asked

"Katie Singer, remember? the other girl from my grade who was coming here"

"Oh yeah," Jessie said knowing exactly who Katie Singer was. "Did she know a lot of people coming here already?"

"No, she told me she only knew me and her friend Tad"

"Figures" Jessie grumbled as she unlocked their dorm room. Jessie always saw Katie around school with a million people around her. It figures she would automatically be that popular at a new school, too.

"Hey, what's that?" Grace said as she sat down on her newly made bed.

"What?"

"The bright pink piece of paper on the floor near the door"

Jessie saw that Grace wasn't moving, so she went over and picked it up.

"It says we have a floor meeting in the common room at 10 tonight" Jessie said as she read the note. "What time is it now?"

"It's 9:30"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we got back form dinner when we did" Jessie said as she sat on her bed.

For the next fifteen minutes both Grace and Jessie did absolutely nothing. Jessie decided to lay down, and Grace did the same. If anybody walked in and saw them both staring silently at the ceiling, they'd think someone had died.


	3. Boarding School 3

Fic: Boarding School (3?)

Author: nodoubtwywh

Disclaimer: None of the characters of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

Summary: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, I suck at this whole summary thing)

Feedback: Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

* * *

Jessie had been staring at the cieling noticing the off-white color of the tiles for sometime before she decided to roll over and check the time on her alarm clock. "9:55"

"Grace, we should probably head to the common room" Showing up late was a good way to draw attention to yourself, and Jessie didn't want that to happen.

The common room was right in front of the elevators, and it took maybe 10 seconds to walk to. When they got there they weren't alone. A group of people were already gathered around; sprawling on the floor and a few in chairs. Grace and Jessie decided to sit on the couch towards the back. They sat there awkwardly silent for only a few minutes before a girl with dark hair and blue eyes came and told everyone to move the chairs and sit in a circle.

"Oh, great" Jessie though silently "we're going to have to get to know everyone."

As if the dark haired girl was reading her mind, she said "I'm Sarah and don't worry, we're not going to be doing any icebreakers tonight. I just want to make sure everyone's here and gets a copy of all the stuff I'm handing out."

A sigh of relief went through Jessie's body, but she still wasn't sure who this Sarah was.

"Well, I'm a senior prefect for those of you who don't know me. I live at the single at the end of the hall, and I'm here incase you guys need anything." Sarah looked around and then added while staring a blonde haired girl, "I'm also here to make sure no one breaks curfew"

"Hey now! I resent that glare!" replied the blonde girl defensively.

"I wasn't glaring," Sarah answered "Maybe you just have a guilty conscience"

That got everyone to laugh a little bit and made loosened the tension a little bit. Sarah passed out a bunch of papers with things like dorm rules about curfew, boys, etc. She also handed out campus maps. Jessie was glad she gave them to everyone, so it didn't bring attention to the people who were sure to get lost.

"Well, that's basically everything, don't forget to buy all your books tomorrow" Sarah finished "Oh yeah, we are the lucky floor to have the three new female upperclassmen, so make sure to be nice."

A few heads turned to stare at Jessie and Grace, and Jessie couldn't help but turn red.

Jessie and Grace started to get up and walk back to their room, but they were soon stopped.

"Hey, Grace, I think I have the room across from you," Katie said as she blocked the way out for Jessie.

"Cool," said Grace grateful to have a familiar face nearby. "Oh, hey Katie I don't know if you've ever met my stepsister. This is Jessie."

"Nope, we've never met, but I've heard my friend Tad mention you once or twice," Katie said smiling mischievously "Nice to meet you"

Jessie knew who Tad was, but she didn't know that he'd noticed her.

"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you, too," Jessie replied hesitantly.

"Hey, you guys wanna see my room?" Katie asked as they started down the hallway.

"Sure," Grace replied "Do you like your roommate?"

"Love her," Katie replied laughingly "She decided not to come to school this year, so I have a single"

Grace laughed and thought maybe Katie would be better off in a room of her own.

"Well, welcome to my place," Katie said as she opened the door.

Katie's room looked lopsided because her side of the room was decorated nicely, and looked like someone was living there. The other half; however, was still empty.

"I didn't know my roommate wasn't coming until, like, an hour ago, so I didn't know I could use the whole room." Katie explained

"Well, that makes sense, do you know what you're going to do with the other side?" Grace asked

"I think I'm just going to put some sheets on it, and decorate it like I do have a roommate"

Jessie hadn't said a word at this point, and Grace was actually a little worried about her. She knew Jessie was shy, but c'mon. This girl was from their hometown and their high school.

"So, you guys know where the bookstore is?" Katie asked trying to lend the one piece of information she had.

"Yeah," Grace said "I have to meet with my advisor at his house and then I'm going to get my books in the morning"

"What!" Jessie thought to herself suddenly alert "How does Grace know she has to meet with her advisor? And what was she going to do?"

"I went to my advisor's house this afternoon," Katie said knowingly "He's a cool guy with satellite television that he said I could come over and watch whenever."

"Not too bad" Grace said hoping her advisor was just as nice.

They chatted a little bit longer before they decided they should all get some sleep. Jessie finally spoke up to say goodnight to Katie, but that was it.

Jessie threw on some pajamas and turned off the overhead light before climbing into bed.

"Grace?"

"What?"

"When do you have to go to your advisor's?"

"I set my alarm for nine, why?"

"I don't know who my advisor is"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find out who it is. And I'll come back to the dorm before I get my books, so we can go together."

"Thanks," Jessie replied gratefully as she shut off the lamp on her end table.

The next morning Jessie woke up to the sound of Grace's alarm. At first she forgot where she was, but it soon came back to her. She must have fallen back to sleep because the next she knew Grace was completely dressed and ready to go.

"Hey Jess," Grace said tapping her gently "I'm headed out, but when I get back I figure we can get lunch and then get our books. And if you're hungry now, my mom put some fruit in the fridge"

"Kay" Jessie mumbled as she sat up groggily "Have fun"

"I just hope I don't get lost," Grace said as she left

Jessie climbed out of bed and decided to take a quick shower. This was going to be her first time using community bathrooms, and that didn't thrill her at all. She grabbed her robe and her shower caddy and took as quick a shower as possible.

She made it back to her door before running into anyone, and Jessie gave a silent thanks. However she thought too soon because Katie suddenly came out of her room.

"Hey Jess," Katie said brightly.

"Hey" Jess said awkwardly with her wrapped and a towel on

"Is Grace gone already to her advisor's?"

"Yeah, she left a little bit ago"

"Well, I'm meeting Tad for some breakfast in a few minutes, you want to come?"

"Crap," Jessie thought anxiously "what can I say as an excuse?"

"Um, no thanks, I'm not really that hungry" Jessie said trying to be nonchalant about it.

"Aw, c'mon, the cafeteria can't really screw up breakfast that badly, can they? And besides I know Tad would love to see you." Katie continued not taking 'no' for an answer "I'll wait. Just knock on my door when you're ready"

"OK" Jessie said reluctantly as she headed back into her room to get dressed.


	4. Boarding School 4

Fic: Boarding School (4?)

Author: nodoubtwywh

Disclaimer: None of the character of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

Summary: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, I suck at this whole summary thing)

Feedback: Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

* * *

Jessie threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, grateful that she didn't have to wear her uniform yet. She dried her hair only a little bit before knocking on Katie's door. 

The two of them made their way to the dining hall, and Katie decided to stand on a chair to look for Tad.

"Please get down from that chair, Ms. Singer" A stern voice commanded

"Er, sorry Mr. McKinney," Katie yelled back.

"Figures. I'm here for two days and already the teachers are on my case" Katie complained to Jessie. "Oh, look, there's Tad...Tad!"

"Hey Katie, survive the first night?" Tad asked before noticing Jessie and becoming a little less confident.

"Oh, Tad, you remember Jessie, right?" Katie said in a tone that was obviously tormenting Tad.

Tad lost his composure "Er yeah, hi, how's it going? It's cool here right? Do you like your roommate?"

Before Jessie could respond Katie laughed and told him to slow down and take it one question at a time. Jessie was pretty sure Tad blushed a little.

They went through the line pretty quickly, and found a place to sit. Jessie told Tad that she was living with Grace so that made it easier to relax. The breakfast conversation stayed pretty consistent with the usual "getting to know you" banter. Jessie couldn't help but be amazed at how easily Katie could change awkward silence into a funny conversation. She was definitely one of those charismatic people that everyone is drawn to. 'The exact opposite of me,' Jessie thought to herself as she took a bite of yogurt.

After breakfast they dumped off their trays, and Jessie thought she'd head back to her room to read a bit before Grace got back. But before she could tell Katie and Tad goodbye, one of Katie's many new friends yelled for her to come over.

"Hey, I'll be right back" Katie said quickly to Tad and Jessie. Jessie waited with Tad because she thought it might be a little rude to leave without saying goodbye to Katie.

"So, do you think you'll go to the welcome back party tonight?" Tad asked Jessie nervously.

"What party?" she asked sincerely. Jessie hadn't heard anything about a party yet.

"There's always a party on the football field. It's actually school chaperoned, but the after parties are killer...er from what I hear"

Jessie wasn't sure if she felt like going to this party, but maybe if Grace went.

"I'm..." Jessie started to explain that she wasn't sure when Katie ran back over and jumped on Tad's back.

"Hey!" Katie yelled happily "What'd I miss? Did I give you enough time to ask her to the party yet, Tad?"

Jessie never knew a guy who could turn as red as she could. Tad removed Katie from his back, and said through tight lips, "I was just mentioning it to her, actually"

"Oh, well, you've gotta come," Katie said ignoring the awkwardness of Tad "I bet Grace will go, and it's going to be great from what I hear. And I met this kid Chad, he's a day student, and he's throwing this after party at his house"

"Um, cool" Jessie said after a minute because Katie and Tad were staring at her "I'll check and see if Grace wants to go"

"Great," Tad said brightly with a small sigh of relief

"Well, I'm going to go organize my room a little bit before Grace gets back," Jessie said knowing it sounded lame. She'd had her fill of being social for the day. She went back to the elevators, but decided to try the stairs. She was only on the fourth floor, so the stairs wouldn't be that bad.

"Hey, wait up!" Katie called after her.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I'm just heading back to my room, too. So, I figured I'd tag along...are we taking the stairs?" Katie asked curiously

"Yeah, well, I was just going to give em a try...we don't have to though"

"Good," Katie smiled as she pushed the elevator button "I'm totally lazy"

"You really should come tonight," Katie started at the elevator made its way up "I think it'll be fun, and Tad really is a good guy."

Jessie did like Tad, but she just wasn't used to attention from a lot of guys. She definitely lacked a little bit of experience in the guy department.

"Yeah?" Jessie asked "Did you guys ever...like..."

"Oh, never" Katie said reading Jessie's thoughts "He's just been a great friend for a long time"

Jessie said goodbye to Katie and decided to read a book while waiting for Grace.

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Grace came back and proclaimed that her advisor was awesome and Jessie would have to meet him. Lunch wasn't horrible, and it turns out that they always have salad. That made Jessie a little more relaxed about the cafeteria food. Later they found the bookstore and got their books without a problem.

The rest of the day could have been boring, but Grace decided it might be a good idea if she and Jessie went to find the buildings their classes were in so they didn't get lost tomorrow. Jessie, of course, thought this was a brilliant idea so they decided to explore the campus.

They found most of the buildings with ease and decided to go back to the dorms and have dinner. Jessie had mentioned the party earlier to Grace who thought it was a great idea. Jessie wasn't so sure, but she decided to go anyway. She didn't want to be the only one left in the dorms.

Later that night Jessie and Grace took about an hour to decide what to wear. They both agreed that jeans and maybe a cute top would be the trick. Jessie pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a light pink tank top. The weather still felt like summer. Grace was about to put on heals with her jeans when Katie knocked on the door to see if they wanted to walk over together.

"Sure," Grace replied for them

"Great, meet me in the hall in 15 minutes, k?" Katie said as she looked at the shoes Grace was putting on. "And Grace? I'd wear different shoes. It's going to be on a football field"

"Good point" Grace laughed as she looked for a different pair of shoes to wear.

25 minutes later they were all dressed and ready. They ran into a big group of girls waiting for the elevator also ready to go the party. The group of about 15 girls made their way easily to the football field even though it was getting dark out.

"Hey you guys," Tad yelled to them as they walked past the bleachers and onto the field

The rest of the evening there wasn't too bad. Jessie made it through without having a heart attack, and she was even able to enjoy herself - for a few minutes anyway. Tad was being really nice to her and was getting her all the punch she wanted...and then some.

The last glass he brought her tasted a little funny.

"Eck," was her involuntary response when she took a sip of her punch "what is this?"

Tad took a sip of his and realized that someone had spiked it.

"Looks like someone got to the punch, I'm sorry, I swear I didn't know" He said as he poured out his punch. The last thing he wanted was Jessie to think he drank a lot.

Grace and Katie had subtly made their move away from Tad and Jessie so "the couple" could be alone. Grace wasn't sure if Jessie would like this, but she decided to give it a shot when Katie mentioned the idea. It didn't mean that she wasn't going to keep an eye on them though. They were hanging out near the music with a bunch of people that all seemed to know Katie.

"Earth to Grace" Katie said trying to get her attention

"Oh, sorry" Grace said not realizing she hadn't been paying attention

"No big. Having fun spying on Tad and Jessie?"

"No, it's not that, I was just, um" Grace stammered trying to find a better answer

"It's all right, I get it," Katie said as she looked over to Jessie and Tad who were now sitting on the bleachers talking. Tad looked happier than she'd seen him in a while and she was happy for him. But for some reason she wasn't as happy as she thought she'd be.

"Anyway," Katie continued ignoring her thoughts "That guy Chad I mentioned to you earlier tonight...I think we should head over there now. What do you say we go grab the lovebirds?"

"Sounds good" Grace said hoping Jessie was up to going. This guy Chad was really hot, and Jessie seemed to be getting along fine with Tad.

Thirty minutes later they found a ride to Chad's and were pulling up to his driveway.

"Wow," Tad said staring at the huge house in front of him

"Very eloquently put, Tad," Katie teased.


	5. Boarding School 5

Fic: Boarding School (5?)

Author: nodoubtwywh

Disclaimer: None of the characters of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

Summary: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, I suck at this whole summary thing)

Feedback: Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

* * *

The house really was amazing. Jessie had never seen a house so big before. Katie somehow got the attention of the host very easily and persuaded him to give them a tour. Each room was more amazing than the last. Also, every room seemed to have a theme. Some were packed and had loud metal music playing and others had more mellow music. The only common thing seemed to be the alcohol in every room. Chad laughed when Jessie stupidly pointed it out. 

"Yeah," Chad explained "The saying is that everyone who goes to this school is born with a beer bottle in their mouth."

Jessie tried to pretend she thought that was funny so she laughed. But really she just added it to the list of reasons of why she wouldn't fit in. The tour finally ended and they found themselves in a room packed with people dancing to some techno music. Grace and Katie seemed to have no problem jumping in and dancing with the group.

"HEY! YOU WANT TO GO FIND ANOTHER ROOM!" Tad screamed over the music.

"Sure," Jessie replied hoping she could get the buzzing out of her ears.

"WHAT?"

"Sure!" Jessie tried a little louder, but it obviously didn't work since Tad was still staring at her. Finally she gave up on words and just nodded emphatically. Jessie followed Tad out and up a pair of stairs where they found a small room that no one was in except some guy who'd passed out.

"So," Tad said as they sat down on a couch "were you excited about coming to school here?"

"No," Jessie answered truthfully "I'm not exactly a fan of trying new places."

"Well, that makes sense. I wasn't that excited about coming either, but I knew it couldn't be bad if Katie was coming"

"Yeah, having someone you know does help a bit"

Jessie felt like they'd had this conversation before, but since she couldn't think of anything to say, she went along with it. After a while they actually had a good conversation going. Tad had played soccer and so had Jessie, so they at least had that in common.

"So, uh, " Tad started nervously "I didn't know if you knew, or um, i mean back at Upton Sinclair, I uh, sort of had this huge...crush on you"

Jessie obviously found out when Katie started teasing him, but she didn't know that he liked her before. She didn't know how she was supposed to respond to that. Thank you? That's nice? I like you, too? But she wasn't really sure if she did yet. "How do you know something like that?" she wondered to herself

"Um," Jessie started hoping the right words would come to her "Really? I, uh, didn't know you knew who I was"

"Yeah, I definitely knew who you were," Tad said moving slowly closer to Jessie.

Jessie felt her heart start racing and suddenly got very nervous. Did she want to kiss Tad? Not really was the only answer she could think of. Instead of taking her silence as a move to back off because she felt awkward, Tad thought it meant that she didn't mind him getting closer. He slowly leaned in and kissed her. Jessie found herself kissing him back, but her thoughts definitely weren't on the kiss.

"Tad," Jessie got out in between kissing. Tad, being like most guys thought this was just her way of being into the kiss so he leaned her back onto the couch.

"Tad," Jessie began again "Wait." She said and gently pushed him back off her.

Tad didn't seem to get the message.

"Wait!" Jessie said more forcefully.

Grace and Katie walked in just in time to hear Jessie's last 'wait!'

"Dammit!" Grace thought angrily "This is my damn fault for leaving her alone."

Tad and Jessie looked over to see who had walked in. Grace had daggers in her eyes. Katie seemed to be the only one who could find words.

"Hey Jess," Katie started "We decided this party's gotten pretty lame. You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah" Jessie replied more embarrassed than she could ever remember. Jessie got up and quickly followed them out leaving Tad to stare at them walking away.

When they were outside in front of the house Grace finally found her voice again.

"Are you ok, Jessie? I'm so sorry" Grace said even though she knew it wouldn't help.

"I'm fine, really, no big deal" Jessie said not wanting to talk about it.

"Well, my friend Mike is going to give us a ride back to school," Katie said as she led them to a dark green Jeep.

Katie, Jess, and Grace had made it back to campus in one piece, but that didn't mean Jessie was glad to see it. She hadn't said a word since they'd gotten back to the dorms and Grace was getting a little worried.

"I'm really, sorry" Grace tried again as she changed into her pajamas "I really thought Tad was a nice guy"

"It's all right, Grace" Jess assured her. 'It wasn't Grace's fault and it wasn't like anything that bad had happened,' she told herself

"OK, well, we have to be at chapel at 7:15 tomorrow morning"

"What?" Jess asked "My dad said this wasn't a religious school"

"Oh, no, it's not. My advisor just said it's been on campus forever and we have to go three times a week. He said it's just like a class for the entire school. The chapel's just the meeting place. Tomorrow will probably just be a 'welcome back' and 'work hard' speech by the headmaster"

'How is it that Grace and I have been at this school for the same amount of time and she already knows more than me?' Jessie asked herself angrily.

"OK," Jess said as she grabbed her shower caddy "I'll be right back. I'm just going to brush my teeth and wash up"

Jessie walked to the hall in her flip flops and found the bathroom deserted. Of course the second she started brushing her teeth in walked Katie.

"Hey Jess," Katie said but Jessie could just nod as she continued brushing her teeth. At least brushing her teeth gave her an excuse not to talk.

"Look," Katie said suddenly being serious since the first time Jess had met her. "I'm sorry about Tad. He's really a nice guy most of the time. And he really does like you a lot...I guess he just made a mistake"

Jessie just sort of nodded and kept brushing her teeth.

"Not that I'm saying what he did was right," Katie said wishing that she didn't feel like she was talking to herself.

Jessie finally spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth as Katie started washing her face.

"I'm really sorry" Katie said again.

"It's not your fault," Jess said slowly as she started to wash her face again

For some reason Katie couldn't help but feel responsible for hurting Jessie. It wasn't her fault, but still, she had definitely helped him out a little bit. As bad as Katie felt she felt even worse because that nagging feeling that had come back...she didn't feel that badly for Tad losing Jessie.

"Yeah, well..." Katie said "well, what do you think of this place so far?"

"I don't know...jury's still out I guess" Jessie said still not sure if this was the best place for her.

"Yeah, same here," Katie agreed.

"Really?" Jessie asked surprised to hear that since Katie seemed to have so many friends already.

"Yeah, you seem surprised"

"No, well," Jessie stammered hoping she hadn't offended her "I mean I guess I just figured since I always see you talking to so many people...I mean, it just seems like you have a lot of friend here already"

Katie waited for Jessie to rinse her face off before answering.

"It isn't that I don't have friends here" Katie explained "I mean, I always have a lot of people talking 'at' me, but...I don't know..." Katie stopped suddenly unsure why she felt comfortable sharing this information with Jessie.

"I just still haven't decided yet" Katie finally finished.


	6. Boarding School 6

Fic: Boarding School (6?)

Author: nodoubtwywh

Disclaimer: None of the characters of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

Summary: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, I suck at this whole summary thing)

Feedback: Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

* * *

At 6 am Jessie was woken up by not only one screeching alarm clock, but two!

"Ugh" Jessie moaned as she rolled over and tried to ignore the loud noises. Apparently Grace had set her alarm for exactly one minute after Jessie's. This meant 'snoozing' was never going to happen. Finally, Grace and Jessie turned of their alarms and started getting ready for their first day of classes.

"I feel like an idiot in this stupid blazer," Grace complained.

"Yeah, well, at least the whole school is going to be filled with idiots in blazers," Jessie replied as she looked at herself in the school uniform.

"So, when do you have a break for lunch?"

"I get out of English at 11:15 and I don't have another class until 2. I guess I have a good break today," Jessie replied.

"I'll say," Grace said jealously "I only have a break from 11 until 11:30. It's because of this creative writing class I added that's only one day a week"

"Ok, so you ready?" Jessie asked as put her messenger bag on and got her keys.

"Yep, guess so"

The meeting at the chapel turned out to be exactly what Grace said it would be. They sang the school Alma Mater and then the headmaster spoke. Jessie felt like she was reliving a scene from a bad movie. 'I guess they had to get their material from somewhere' Jessie thought to herself as the singing ended.

"Well, good luck" Grace said as they were standing up to leave.

"Yeah, you, too" Jessie said as she made her way through the crowd.

"Jessie Sammler?" Someone called through the group of people. Jessie turned and tried to find the person who had called her name. A woman against the wall as waving at her.

Jessie finally made her way over to the wall and the woman wondering how she knew who she was.

"Hi Jessie, I'm Dr. Eliot."

"Um, hi," Jessie replied still not sure who this person was.

"I'm sorry I didn't get in touch with you earlier, but apparently there was a miscommunication in the main office. I'm going to be your advisor while you're here at school"

"Oh, okay," Jessie said not knowing what else to say.

"Well, I have another student that I'm advising coming to meet me at my house at 11:30. Why don't you come then, too?"

"Sure," Jessie said wondering if her new advisor knew that she didn't have class then "Where is your house?"

Dr. Eliot wrote down some directions for Jessie that seemed easy to follow. She explained that ninety percent of the teachers lived on campus. She also explained that advisors had copies of their students' schedules.

Surprisingly, Jessie found her first two classes not that horrible. School and homework were always things she could handle. Math and English were the same no matter where went to school; even if one school happened to give more work. Her last class of the morning got out a little late at 11:20, and Jessie wasn't sure how long it'd take her to walk to her advisor's.

At 11:35 Jessie found the house. She knocked on the door and someone inside yelled "Come in!"

"Hi," Jessie started as she walked in looking for someone "Sorry I'm late. My last class ran over a little bit."

"No problem," Dr. Eliot replied as she passed Jessie in the hallway going from one room to another. "Come into the living room. I was just getting some drinks for us."

"Hey!" some said brightly as Jessie was putting down her bag near the couch.

"Oh hey!" Jessie said as she turned around and saw Katie single cross legged near the coffee table.

"Great," Dr. Eliot replied "I thought you guys might know each other already"

"Yep, we go way back" Katie said jokingly

Jessie was glad to see Katie. Hanging out with adults who are trying to be your friend is easier if you have someone else with you.

"So, how were your classes this morning?" Dr. Eliot said making conversation.

Dr. Eliot turned out to be pretty cool. Jessie wondered if that was a prerequisite to being an advisor. She hadn't heard anyone say anything bad about their advisors yet. They hung out and drank some lemonade while Dr. Eliot explained what she was there for. Basically if they need help with anything, that's why she was there. If they needed to escape for a bit and come watch TV and study, she was there. Her husband loved to cook so she said they would never have to miss home cooking.

Katie and Jessie left Dr. Eliot's house 40 minutes later feeling comfortable about their advisor.

"Do you have a class now?" Katie asked as they started walking away from the house

"No, I don't have my next class until 2"

"Yeah, my next class isn't until 2:30"

"It's weird having classes that aren't back to back isn't it?" Jessie asked not used to having no bells and free time in the middle of the day

"Yeah," Katie agreed "But I think it's cool. Do you want to go grab some lunch and take it upstairs to eat?"

Jessie didn't have anyone to eat lunch with so this sounded like an okay plan to her. Jessie made it through the line quickly as she grabbed a salad. Katie, on other hand, was stopped by no less than ten people trying to talk to her.

"So, you didn't feel like eating the cafeteria?" Jessie asked as they walked into Katie's room

"Not really," Katie said "I like that I can come hang out in my room in the middle of the day. I guess it'll grow old eventually"

"Yeah, probably." Jessie agreed as she sat down on Katie's newly made up extra bed.

Katie took off her shows and reached for her CD player. She was one of those people who always had to have some music playing in the background. Today was no exception.

"Who is this?" Jessie asked since she'd never heard this song before

"It's Billie Holiday" Katie informed her "My Uncle got me into her. He knows everything cool. She has an amazing voice and I just love listening to her"

Jessie listened for a bit longer and finally decided that she liked this music.

"I can make you a copy if you want"

"Cool, thanks" Jessie answered as she laid down half way on the bed. "I love her voice."

"Yeah, I saw this movie on her life though once and I mean anything bad that could happen to someone happened to her" Katie started to explain and then remembered that Grace had mentioned something about Jessie liking to sing

"Hey, don't you sing?" Katie asked

"I, well, I mean I like, too" Jessie replied wondering how Katie could've known.

"Grace mentioned it last night when you and Tad were still hanging out at the bleachers" Katie explained and then kicked herself mentally for bringing up Tad. "Why don't you try singing this song?"

"What? Now?" Jessie asked clearly embarrassed

"Yeah, c'mon, I want to hear"

Finally Jessie gave in and picked up the song where she could remember the words.

Empty pockets don't ever make the grade

Mama may have, Papa may have

But God bless the child that's got his own

That's got his own

Jessie stopped singing and started to giggle nervously. She loved singing so much that she'd nearly forgotten where she was. She stopped singing though because she didn't know all the words yet. Katie was just staring at her not saying anything, so Jessie suddenly got very self conscious and started to fidget.

"Wow," Katie finally managed to breathe. She'd never been entranced by anyone's voice like that before. Jessie's eyes shone more brightly than she'd ever seen while she was singing. Katie had heard people speak of angel's voices before, but it wasn't until this moment that she understood what they meant.

"Yeah, uh, well," Jessie stammered as her cheeks started to flush "I just, I don't know the rest of the words" Jessie explained trying to break the weird silence.

"Snap out of it, Singer!" Katie commanded herself silently.

"You have an amazing voice," Katie finally said still staring at Jessie.

"Thanks," Jessie said as she turned even redder "Well, I should probably get to class. Grace and I found the building yesterday, but it's way across campus so it's going to take me awhile to get there"

"Ok, that's cool" Katie said trying to pretend that she didn't mind that Jessie had to leave. But really the truth was that the nagging feeling she'd had in her stomach when they talked earlier had suddenly become a lot harder to ignore.

"Well, I'm sure I'll see you later" Jessie said as she left Katie's room.


	7. Boarding School 7

Fic: Boarding School (7?)

Author: nodoubtwywh

Disclaimer: None of the characters of Once and Again belong to me. But if they were on ebay - watch out!

Summary: Jessie goes to boarding school not knowing that her life will never be the same. (haha sorry, I suck at this whole summary thing)

Feedback: Yes, please! If you want me to continue this story, please let me know!

* * *

The next few weeks at school went by quickly. Jessie was getting used to the place, and she was finally getting into a routine. Every Monday she and Grace would have lunch together. And every Wednesday and Friday, she'd have lunch with Katie. Tuesday and Thursdays were up in the air. Her classes weren't too hard for her, but they definitely gave a lot more work than her old high school.

This particular Friday morning Jessie got to sleep in late. Her professor had to take his son to the doctor so he canceled class. And since she didn't have to get up early, she was more than annoyed by the alarm clock that went off at 5am.

"Ungh" Jessie growled rolling over.

"Translation?" Grace asked as she crawled out of bed.

"Shhhh" Jessie said as she tried to bury her face in her pillow

"Ok, ok, I'm going to be quick." Grace replied as she grabbed her shower stuff "Oh yeah, Katie doesn't have to do anything this morning either so I was supposed to remind you to knock on her door to wake her up for lunch"

Jessie turned over and tried to remember what Grace was telling her. Katie was lucky she didn't have to be woken up by an early alarm clock.

At about 10 am, Jessie decided to go ahead and wake up. Ever since Grace woke her up she just couldn't sleep right anymore. After she took a shower and got ready she figured it was late enough to go wake up Katie. Plus, they could hang out a little more than usual.

Jessie waited for Katie to open the door as she knocked loudly. Suddenly the door flew up and a very peppy Katie was there to greet her.

"Hi Billie!" Katie yelled happily as she ran about her dorm room looking for something

"Um" Jessie started as she walked in and shut the door "Are you insane? I thought you'd be sleeping. And Billie?"

"Yeah. Billie. You." Katie said as if that explained everything.

"Sure," Jessie said as she took her usual place on the other bed and watched Katie running about her room.

"Ok" Katie said finally sitting on her own bed and turning on some music

"All calm now sparky?" Jessie teased

"Yeah, sorry," Katie replied "I just woke up with energy"

"Oh yeah, sure, that happens to me all the time" Jessie replied sarcastically

Katie retaliated by throwing a pillow at her.

"Hey!" Jessie tried to say angrily. It wasn't very convincing though because she couldn't help laughing.

"So, what's the plan tonight?"

"Plan?"

"Yeah," Katie replied "It IS Friday night"

"Oh, right"

"I was thinking either hitting up one of the many parties of drunkards or a movie. What do you think?"

"Well, I guess any party we went to would have to better than the first one. But then again I want to see Closer before it goes out of theaters. I'm up for either"

"Why pick one?" Katie smiled "When you're with me anything's possible!"

Jessie laughed as Katie pretended to be a genie.

"You're such a dork" Jessie teased

Katie frowned and stared at the bed "Aw, you hurt my feelings Ms. Holiday"

"Riiiiight" Jessie said as Katie was trying to keep a straight face.

"Ok, well, then I say we go see Closer and then afterward we hit up the party. Now we'll probably have to come back here after the movie and then sneak out after checks. Or we could find a day student to sign out with for the night."

"I'd say signing out is the safer route."

"Done."

"Hey Jess, you're done with classes right?" Grace said as she opened the door to their room

"Yep, easy day for once"

"Great. You want to grab some dinner? I'm starving"

Jessie agreed and they made their way to the dining hall. Jessie wasn't that hungry so she only grabbed a salad thinking she might get something to eat at the movies later.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Grace asked as she sat her tray down at a table in the corner

"Katie and I are going to the movies and then we're thinking about going to Mike Donnelley's party. Are you going to it?"

Jessie could've sworn she saw Grace's eyes narrow, but she convinced herself she just imaged it.

"Um, maybe" Grace finally answered "This guy Reed asked me if I wanted to go with him."

"That's great! How come you didn't tell me before?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure if he's really my type yet"

After a few minutes of silence, since they were both eating, Grace finally spoke up.

"So, you've been hanging out a lot with Katie lately..."

"Yeah," Jess smiled as she answered "It's been great hanging out with someone from back home plus she's cool"

"Careful, you guys are going to be joined at the hip like she was with Sarah Grasser"

Jessie just laughed, but again she thought she saw Grace making a strange face. She didn't know Sarah Grasser, but she though she'd heard her name before. She must have been in the same grade as Grace and Katie.

"Hey Billie!" Katie said as Jessie opened the door. "You ready to go?"

"Yep, let me just grab my money"

"So, I've got some bad news" Katie started as they made their way down the elevator. "I couldn't get us signed out."

"Oh no, what happened to my genie?" Jessie teased

"I'm sorry, but we can still go to the party. My curfew it a little later than yours, and besides you said Grace was going. So I'm sure curfew won't be a big deal"

"All right" Jessie said nervously. She wasn't normally one to break a lot of rules.

"How was the movie?" Grace asked as Jessie got home

"Really good, but I think I would've liked the play better."

"So, you're getting ready?" Jessie asked as Grace was looking through her closet wearing her robe.

"Yeah, aren't you going to, also?"

"Yeah, Katie and I are leaving in about 30 minutes."

Grace didn't say anything. Jessie decided to confront her about her weird looks.

"I don't know if I'm imagining it, but it seems like you don't like Katie"

"What?" Grace asked genuinely surprised as she threw on her clothes "That's not true!"

"Ok," Jessie replied "Then what is it? I mean, lately you seem to make a face whenever I mention her."

"I promise, it's not that I don't like Katie. I think she's great, and I'm really glad you guys are friends"

"Even if we are...what did you say? 'joined at the hip' like she was with this Sarah whatever girl?"

"Grasser. And..." Grace said staring directly at Jessie. "Even if you are"

Jessie dropped it and started to get dressed.

"I wonder why Katie hasn't mentioned Sarah. I mean, I bet she misses her friend from home being here" Jessie wondered out loud.

Grace took this as final confirmation that Jessie didn't really know who Sarah was.

"I think it's because Sarah was too heartbroken to stay friends."

Jessie stopped brushing her hair.

"What?"

Grace didn't know what to say next. She wasn't sure if she should've told Jessie, but it didn't seem fair that she didn't at least know.

"Yeah, Katie and Sarah were, like madly in love, and Katie broke up with her. Sarah was heartbroken"

"That isn't true! I'm sure that's not what happened. " Jessie snapped "You're just repeating some stupid rumor that went around school."

"No, I'm not. It was common knowledge. It's not a big deal."

Suddenly, Jessie remembered Grace's comment about her being like Sarah.

"Well, I know it's not a big deal because she isn't!"

"Whatever. Ask anyone."

"I don't have to ask anyone because I know her!" Jessie fired back.

"Whatever. I'll see you later. " Grace said as she grabbed her purse and left.

Jessie's blood was boiling as she slammed the door after Grace.

Jessie stopped getting ready and laid down on her bed.

Katie is not gay she told herself She would've told me.

Finally, Jessie got up the nerve to go knock on Katie's door.

"Hey Billie," Katie answered with her usual smile "You dressed already?"

"Actually, um...Ar-" Jessie stopped and chickened out. "I'm not really feeling all that well. Would you be really mad if I said I didn't want to go anymore?"

Katie was surprised, but she didn't show it.

"Course not. It must have been that skeezy popcorn at the theater." Katie said as she started putting away her makeup. "We can just stay in and watch some movies if you want."

"Actually, I think I'm just going to go to bed early. I'm really tired."

"Oh." Katie replied obviously disappointed "Ok. You want me to get anything for you?"

"No, I'll be fine. I probably just need some sleep"

"Ok." Katie said noticing that Jessie was acting a little strange. "Well, then, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah," Jessie said as she left Katie's room, "night."


End file.
